Color key for article packages



Nov. 14, 1933. w ER COLOR KEY FOR ARTICLE PACKAGES Filed Feb. 19, 1931 gnwnfo'c J "Lalo-I01 -Patentecl Nov. 14, 1933 1 9 UNITED S ATES PATENT? OFFICE Application February 19, 1931. ScrialNo. 517,027

" 1 Claim. (01. 206-46) This invention relates to packing and displaying articles of wearing, apparel and particularly to a package designedto contain and display articles of apparel such as hosiery, though not limited to this use. The general object of this invention is to provide means whereby a purchaser of goods such as hosiery may see at a glance the actual colors with which that particular article may be worn,

10 the several colors being actually produced upon the wrapper or other package so that the customer buying the article with the colors printed upon the wrapper thereof, may actually compare the -colors so associated withthe wrapper or package 'with articles of wearing apparel and thus determine whether or not any certain article she may own is capable of being worn in connection with the article contained within the package.

A further object is to provide a transparent wrapper for articles of wear such as stockings which will display not only the color of the stocking itself, but will also have several colors printed thereon with which the particular article enclosed within the package harmonizes.

An example of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In this drawing is illustrated a face view of a hosiery package constructed in accordance with H -my invention. 7 The package is illustrated as comprising a backing 10 of any suitable material and a covering or envelope 11 of cellophane or like material. The article displayed beneath this cellophane covering is designated 12. The cellophane covering will have printed thereon the name-of the dealer or his trade-mark or trade name and preferably will have printed across the front thereof a name indicative of the particular color shade ,of the article 12 enclosed within the package. It 40 -will be asumed that this particular shade 'is .known as Allure, this being the name of a well-known color used, for instance, in stockings. Immediately beneath the word Allure or other .,word indicating the color, will preferably be used 5 the words Smart when worn with. Attached to one face of the cellophane wrapper, either the outer face or the inner face, as desired, or painted or printed upon the inner face of the cellophane wrapper 11 will be aseries of color keys or colored spaces designated 13. These spaces may be colored either by printing them with a suitable color,

painting a suitable color thereon or by pasting slips of colored fabric or paper to the cellophane either on the inside or outside thereof. These spaces 13 will contain several colors or tints with which the stockings or other article enclosed within the package can beworn and the customer. can see through the transparent cover 11 the color of the article itself and also 'see the sev eral colors'with which thearticle will harmonize so that the customer can take the article home and then by comparing the colored spaces 13 with articles of dress, she may own,"may see with. what costume the stockings may be worn.

It is old to provide charts stating that a cer- '65 taincolor of hosiery, for instance, can be worn with certain colors of costumes, as for instance, Mauve beige with Padre brown, Rubytone, Marble green, Winterblu, Krimmer beige, etc., but I believe it to be entirely new with me to provide a package which carries upon it, and particularly a transparent package which carries upon it, these actual colors so that the customer does not have to rely upon her memory of the colors for which the names stand but may actually see the colors for, herself and compare them with the colors of her garments and so that a saleswoman does not have to rely upon her memory of the colors with which the particular color of the stockings is supposed to harmonize L but will have the actual colors present and in conjunction with the stockings or other article contained within the package. Thus the purchaser can see not only that the shade or color of the stockings is what she desires but can also L determine fairly accurately whether this particular shade will go with costumes which she may have at home. It is exceedingly difiicult, for instance, for a purchaser unacquainted with the fine distinctions between fashionable colors to determine, for instance, whether a dress she may have at home is a Salvador brown or a Bison brown or a Black currant or the like, but the colors themselves upon the package will refresh her memory with regard to the costumes she may have at home and thus aid her in making her choice.

It is to be, of course, understood that I have merely illustrated a package having therein an article of wearing apparel of a certain definite 1 color, as for instance, Allure and that I have illustrated only those colors which are supposed to particularly harmonize with the color Allure, these colors being lettered in the drawing a, b, c, d and e, a indicating Bleu directorie, b White, 0 Roseheart, d Peche and e Black, but it will be understood that the color Allure is only one of a large number of colors fashionable at this period and that, of course, the package will be so printed as to indicate the other colors of garments contained within the package, as, for instance, Afternoon, Beige clair, Light gun metal, Plage, etc, and that for the five colors which are shown diagrammatically upon the accompanying drawing as harmonizing with Allure, other colors harmonizing with the colors Beige clair, Mauve beige, etc., will be used and that thus the drawing is merely indicative of the purpose and scope of the invention and illustrative of only one combination of colors.

I do not wish to be limited to the use of this idea with stockings as it may be applied in connection with packages containing other articles of Wearing apparel and while preferably the slips of colored paper or other material will be attached to the package itself or will be imprinted on the package itself, yet they might be in the form of an inserted card or strip capable of be ing seen through the transparent material of the package cover or associated with the package in some other manner.

While as an illustration of one embodiment of my invention I have shown a package containing stockings, not only do I wish not to be limited manufacture. Thus, for instance, cretonnes or other textile fabrics can be sold with a color key of the character above described applied thereto which would show the purchaser just what other colors could be used with that particular article. The same would be true with dress fabrics and a large number of other articles with which it would be desired to charmonize other articles or objects. Furthermore, I do not wish to be limited to colors which would harmonize with the article contained within the package or with which the color key or chart is associated as the chart or key might show those colors with which the article would not be in harmony or might show colors which would contrast with the article.

I claim:--

A wrapper for articles of manufacture formed of transparent material so that the color of the article within the Wrapper may be seen through the wrapper, the wrapper carrying on itself a plurality of color keys, each'key bearing a color which may be harmoniously associated with the color of the article contained within the wrapper, the keys being spaced from each other whereby the article will show through the transparent wrapper in the spaces between the keys.

JOHN M. LAWLER. 

